Carl Hiaasen has been a bestselling novelist for years, but has only
recently decided to try his hand at young adult fiction. Many of
Hiaasen’s adult books have environmental themes, or characters deeply
tied to the environment or issues surrounding land development and the
protection of endangered species, so it’s no surprise that he chose to
hit those hot buttons again in the book, “Hoot.” This movie shows he
found kindred spirits in Wil Shriner and Jimmy Buffett, the latter a
native Floridian and songwriter. Hiaasen has recently published another
young adult novel, this one also focusing on the evils of big
corporations and the plight of the beleaguered environment, called
“Flush.”

Now “Hoot” has been turned into a movie. One of its best features is
the beauty of the landscape. Florida’s wetlands, beaches, and forests
are rightfully shown as wonders. When two of the three kids featured in
the film—Roy Eberhardt (Logan Lerman) and Mullet Fingers (Cody
Linley)—take the boat out into the Everglades, the viewer is swept
along through a panorama that almost defies description. I watched the
movie with my eight-year-old son, and he was as taken with the exotic
wilderness as I was. Many of the scenes are breathtaking, and the
sunsets in a few of those scenes are explosions of color that will
remain with the viewer for a long time. Crocodiles, egrets, cranes,
and—of course—the burrowing owls the kids are trying to save from
Mother Paula’s Pancake House, all take center stage at one time or
another.

Although the story is told from Roy’s first-person narrative throughout
most of the movie, there are times when it’s conspicuously absent. The
voice-overs really serve as a director’s shorthand for advancing the
plot and backgrounding the character, and only resurfaces sporadically.
It was a small annoyance.

The story begins in Montana, with Roy narrating what his life has been
like. His father works for the Department of Justice (which we learn
later) and the family has to move around a lot as a result. We see Roy
shown riding his horse n the mountain country, then the story shifts
suddenly to a Florida school bus where he’s crammed in like a sardine
and definitely not feeling at home. A bully, Dana Matheson (Eric
Phillips), pounces on Roy and grinds his face into the bus window.
While being held there, Roy spots a blond, barefooted boy racing down
the sidewalk, actually outrunning the bus for a time. Another turn or
two, and the boy disappears.

The movie shifts to Officer David Delinko (Luke Wilson) and Curley
Brannitt (Tim Blake Nelson) as they sort through the vandalism that’s
been done to the Mother Paula’s Pancake House development site, where
Curley is living as a caretaker and worker. Luke Wilson, normally at
his best in the laidback, not-quite-knowing-what’s-going-on role, seems
almost lost in this one. He meanders through the scenes and hits his
marks, but never develops beyond that. The vandals are deliberately
delaying construction on the pancake house. When Officer Delinko pokes
his head in the potty, he discovers a baby alligator. Tim Blake
Nelson’s character is slap-your-knee funny.

At school, Roy shows up late for Mr. Ryan’s (Jimmy Buffett) class in
marine studies. He meets Garrett and they become instant friends. Both
lament about changing schools and being the dreaded “new kid”. Roy
questions Garrett about the barefoot boy but he has no idea who it is.

By Day Two, things spin irrevocably out of control. Dana assaults Roy,
but this time Roy breaks Dana’s nose. Rushing out the bus door, Roy
bumps into Beatrice Leep (Brie Larson), who takes an instant dislike to
him. Pursuing Mullet Fingers, Roy almost runs the mysterious boy to
ground but finally loses him. Before Roy can get clear of the golf
course, he gets hit between the eyes with a golf ball and knocked out.

The story proceeds from there, moving into the real issue: Mullet
Fingers knows there are burrowing owls on the construction site and is
doing everything he can to protect them. He’s Beatrice’s step-brother,
but he’s also a runaway from military school. Beatrice is helping him
hide out and trying to get him to stop vandalizing the construction
site. Mullet Fingers won’t give it up, though, and soon Roy and
Beatrice are involved in helping him do everything he can.

The stakes rise on each side of the board. Ruthless pancake house
developer Chuck Muckle (Clark Gregg) is in a rush to break ground on
his 100th restaurant and will do anything to make that happen. In fact,
he already has by hiding the existence of the burrowing owls. Officer
Delinko has no luck at all, and—after his windows are spray-painted
black while he was asleep on sentry duty—gets the keys to a
ridiculous-looking police cart. Curley hires a man with dogs to guard
the site at night and Mullet Fingers gets bitten, leading to Roy lying
to get him admitted to the hospital for treatment.

The special features collected on the disc add a lot of value to the
package. Parrotheads (Jimmy Buffett fans) will be rewarded doubly,
first by the musician’s genial performance, and by his enthusiasm for
the part and what he did to get the movie made. The interviews with
Buffett, Shriner, and Hiaasen reflect almost the same interests and
concerns. Even more of the Florida background gets revealed in those
shots.

The bloopers reel shows the true magic and chemistry between the young
stars. The backyard animal sanctuary bit will encourage a lot of
youngsters and adults to undertake projects.

With a Jimmy Buffett musical score, the movie offers a treat to the
ears, but the sounds carry through the surround sound system really
well. The crash of the surf, the outboard motor, the angry, impatient
snarl of the bulldozer all fill the room. Visually, with the Florida
coastline and jungles to work with, as well as the wildlife, the DVD
shows vibrant colors and images that often get lost in a purely
action-driven tale.

“Hoot” is a delight to watch, the perfect family movie that’s
accessible to kids as well as adults. It’s a feel-good movie with a
predictable ending, but the enjoyment comes out of the trip to get
there.